Tomato-peeling machine.



No. 760,095. PATENTED MAY 17, 1904. W. ARGHDBAGON.

TOMATO FEELING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 25, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

m: nuamsficvtns c0. PNuvn-umm WASHINGTON, u. c. I

UNITED STATES Patented May 17, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

TOMATO-FEELING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,095, dated May 17,1904.

Application filed June 25, 1903. Serial No. 163,120. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM ARCHDEAGON, of Oakpark, Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tomato-Peel ingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvementsin tomato-peeling machines; andamong the salient objects of this invention are to provide a machine ofthis character by which the skin or outer covering of tomatoes and thelike can readily and rapidly be removed without unnecessary waste of thetomato proper, to provide a machine by means of which tomatoes of anysize and shape can be easily and readly relieved of their skins withoutmutilating the same, and to provide a machine of simple constructioncapable of peeling the largest number of tomatoes possible in a giventime.

To the above ends the invention consists in the matters hereinafterdescribed, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, theinvention being more readily understood from the following description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partthereof, in which- Figure l is a side elevation with certain partsbroken away. Fig. 2 is a top plan view, and Fig. 3 is a view of apeeler-head in modified form. 'Fig. t shows a hood in section for thepeeler-head.

Similar numerals designate similar parts in all the figures.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the support or base, which maybe of any desired construction, but in the present instance is shown asone piece of cast-iron.

2 designates the top or table, upon which the peeling mechanism ismounted, and 3, 4:, and 5 respectively designate troughs, which may beof any desired construction and mounted at the endsand one side of saidtable. The troughs 3 and 5 are respectively mounted underneath the twopeeler-heads, hereinafter described, and are adapted to catch thepeeling as it is separated from the article being peeled. The trough 4,mounted at the side, may be used for receiving the tomatoes before orafter they have been peeled, as desired, and each of said troughs may beso constructed as to be readily removed and another put inits place.Thisis accomplished by means of hooks 2, secured to said troughs andadapted to fit into slots 3 in said table. Upon said table are firmlysecured the two bearing-standards 6 and 7, provided, respectively, withthe journal-boxes 6' and 7, in which is journaled the shaft 8. Upon saidshaft are mounted. the driving and loose pulleys, (designated,respectively, as 9 and 10,) adapted to receive adriving-belt, which maybe connected with any desired motive power, or power may be communicatedto said shaft in any other desirable manner, At the back of the table ismounted the Y-shaped belt-shifter 11, properly secured to the shiftingrod 12, which passes through and is supported by the blocks 13 and .14:and is adapted to be shifted backwardly and forwardly therethrough bymeans of the hand-ring 15 to transfer the belt from one pulley to theother.

Upon the ends of the shaft 8 are mounted the peeler-heads, eachcomprising the sheet-metal plate 16, apertured at its center and mountedupon the reduced end of the shaft 8, and the bell-shaped peeler 17, heldagainst said plate by means of the bolt 18, which passes through anaperture in the outer or small end of said bell-shaped peeler and screwsinto the end of the shaft 8, holding the peeler firmly against the platel6,so that it rotates with the shaft. The bell s haped peelers areformed, preferably, of comparatively thin sheet metal having the pointprojections 19 upontheir outer surfaces, which may be formed by punchingthiihtalbut from the inside or in any other way-which will give to theirsurfaces a grater or rasp like effect. k

Fig. 3 shows a peeler-head in slightly-modified form, in which the thinsheet-metal plate 16 is folded to embrace the edge of the bell shapedportion of the peeler, to which it is then securely soldered. The bolt18 is likewise securely soldered to the plate at the point ofintersection, the end thereof projecting through the peeler into thereduced portion thereof, into which it is made fast by soldering or inany other desirable method, thus making the peeler-head, with itsattachingbolt, practically in one piece adapted to be screwed into theend of the power-shaft 8.

One of the important features of the peeler is the shape of its outer orpeeling surface, which in the present instance is made bellshaped; butit will be understood that any shape may be adopted which willprovidethe combined conveXed and concaved revolving surfaces,terminating in a point-like end portion adapted to be projected into thecavities at the core ends of the tomato. While the curved surfaces thusdescribed have been found by experience to be the'most satisfactory, Ido not limit myself to the particular form of a revolving peeler-headhere shown.

In order to confine the peelings and direct them into the trough 5 asthey are torn from the tomato or other article being peeled by therapidly-revolving peeler, a hood 20 may be provided and attached to thestandard 7 so as to inclose said peeler-headin the manner shownin Fig.4E. The front of said hood or that portion at the end of thepeeler-head. is open, as indicated at 21,.by the portion thereof notshown in section, through which opening the tomato is applied by hand tothe peelerhead.

The operation of the. device will be readily understood, fromtheforegoing description, but may be briefly stated as follows: Power isapplied to the shaft 8 through the drivingpulley 9 to transmit arapidly-revolving motion to the peelers. The operator then applies thetomato or any other like article to be peeled by hand through theopening 21 in the front of the hood 20 to the grater-like surface of thepeeler, turning it in the hands and moving it upon the differentportions of the peeler-surface most suited to the particular part of thetomato to be peeled. As the peeling is thus removed from the tomato itis thrown by reason of the revolving motion of the peelers either intothe troughor against the inside of the hood and falls into the trough.

While the above-described invention is adapted particularly for peelingtomatoes, it will be understood that it can be used for peeling anyanalogous articles such as peaches, pears, apples, potatoes, &c.with thesame effect.

1. In a machine for peeling tomatoes and the like, the combination withthe support therefor, of a revoluble peeler-head having an outerconcaved, grater-like surface. 7

2. In a machine for peeling tomatoes and the like, the combination withthe support therefor, of a revoluble peeler-head having a combinedconvexed and concaved, grater-like surface, for the purpose described.

3. In a machine for peeling tomatoes. and the like, the combination withthe supporting-table, of a shaft mounted thereon to revolve, apeeler-head having a combined convexed and concaved, grater likesurface,

-mounted upon said shaft, and means for revolving said shaft at a rapidrate.

4:. In a machine for peeling tomatoes and the like, the combination withthe support ing-table, of a shaft mounted thereon, adapted to berevolved at a rapid rate, and a peelerhead mounted upon the end of saidshaft, said the ends of said shaft, a pair of bell-shaped peeler-headsrigidly secured to said plate-like members, said peeler-heads havingcombined convexed and concaved, grater-like surfaces,

, and means for revolving said peeler-heads at thereon, of a hoodinclosing said peeler-heach;

and a receptacle beneath said peeler-head to catch the peelings as theyare removed from the tomato, substantially as described.

l/VILLIAM ARCHDEACON.v Witnesses:

PAUL S. BATTL H. J. RENKEN.

